Patrick Demarchelier: Photographer who captured the upper echelons of fashion

In a career that lasted almost half a century, Demarchelier was regarded as a failsafe producer of phenomenal fashion images

His work appeared in every famous publication, from ‘Vogue’ to ‘Rolling Stone’ (Getty)

Such was the legendary status of photographer Patrick Demarchelier in fashion circles that his name was spoken in a seminal scene in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada. When Miranda Priestley, the demanding editor in chief of a high fashion glossy magazine (allegedly based on Anna Wintour at American Vogue) despatches the first directive at her hapless assistant she asks one pointed question: “Do you have Demarchelier?”

In a career that lasted almost half a century, Demarchelier was regarded as a failsafe producer of phenomenal fashion images, his unmistakable signature on par with his contemporaries Meisel, Lindberg and Elgort.

“I found Patrick incredibly elegant,” said Sarajane Hoare, who worked with Demarchelier on a regular basis since she was a 28-year-old fashion director at British Vogue. “He was a silent observer. Never a drama. His lighting was exquisite. He had eyes and ears all over the place. He was intuitive and intelligent. A very cool guy.”

As his reputation gained pace, he was commissioned by American, British and Paris Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Marie Claire and also shot covers for Life, Glamour, Newsweek and Rolling Stone.

He worked with every major celebrity including Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Hudson, Bella Hadid and Beyonce. He concocted memorable advertising campaigns for all the major luxury labels including Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Moschino, Longchamp and Louis Vuitton.

Demarchelier’s most famous relationship – the one that made him synonymous with understated elegance – was with Diana, Princess of Wales. His classic portrait of her in a black polo neck, sporting a short tousled haircut and looking directly into the camera, appeared on the cover of British Vogue in 1991 and was internationally applauded as a landmark image.

Demarchelier with one of his photographs of Madonna on display at the Petit Palais in Paris (AP)

In the same way Mario Testino captured an insouciant Diana for Vanity Fair, Demarchelier photographed a royal figure in a relaxed fashion. Self-assured and often impromptu, speed was at the core of his creativity. “Things go really quickly,” Demarchelier told Keira Knightley in Interview magazine. “I like to be spontaneous and get the shot before the subject thinks too much about it.” Demarchelier made history as the first non-British photographer to be appointed photographer to a member of the royal family.

Demarchelier was born near Paris in 1943. With his mother and four brothers, he spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy. Everything changed on his 17th birthday when his stepfather gave him an Eastman Kodak camera. Completely self-taught, with no formal training he began taking photographs of friends and weddings, gradually learning how to frame a shot, develop film and retouch negatives.

Demarchelier receiving the Photographer of the Year award in 2013 (Getty)

He started his career as assistant to celebrated Swiss fashion photographer Hans Feurer. In 1975 Demarchelier left Paris, moved to New York and embarked on a freelance career. It was while assisting established photographers Jacque Guilbert and Henri Cartier Bresson that he developed his own style of fashion photography.

He was unpretentious and low-key, and found joy in simple pleasures – a favourite pursuit was to enjoy a glass of wine and bowl of mussels in a small fishing village.

Demarchelier became synonymous with the higher echelons of fashion photography. After The Devil Wears Prada, he appeared in the 2009 American Vogue documentary The September Issue working with creative director Grace Coddington. In her book Saving Grace: My Fashion Archive, Coddington said of him: “Patrick Demarchelier is a consummate professional. A tireless worker with a generous spirit. He never fails to produce a gorgeous photograph.”

Of the countless shots Demarchelier produced, his favourite one from British Vogue was a head and shoulders shot of model Christy Turlington, her face eclipsed by a huge white flower hat.

For his work in the fashion industry, Demarchelier was given the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Literature), the highest honour by the French minister of culture, in 2007.

In February 2018 in the midst of the #MeToo movement, Demarchelier – along with several other fashion photographers – was accused by models of inappropriate behaviour. Although vehemently denying the allegations, the aspersion remained. In an immediate response to the allegations, Conde Nast announced that they had cut ties with the photographer. Demarchelier’s career did not recover.

Patrick Demarchelier, photographer, born 21 August 1943, died 31 March 2022